Christie’s is promoting a collection of Impressionist art as well as drawings, sculpture, English and European decorative arts, not to mention 20th Century design. The bulk of the collection which is being sold to fund a charity will go on the block in December. Five paintings from the collection will be held for the London sales of Impressionist and Modern art in February. Leading that sale is a work by Paul Signac. Christie’s claims this is the most important work by Signac to come to market in two decades.
Le Port au soleil couchant, Opus 236 (Saint-Tropez) (1892) is one of the first works that Signac painted in St Tropez where he had gone after the death of his friend Georges Seurat. The work is offered with an estimate upon request. Christie’s believes this painting will set a new record for the artist. In 2007, a buyer paid $14m for one of Signac’s works. That suggests Christie’s estimate range for the work will be £12-18m.
Here’s Christie’s release on the entire collection:
Christie’s will offer an eclectic and carefully curated collection, titled An Adventurous Spirit: An Important Private Collection Sold to Benefit a Charitable Foundation, across two London sales in December 2018 and February 2019. Major works from the collection will be exhibited together in an exhibition in London during Christie’s Classic Week in early December.An Adventurous Spirit provides a remarkable view of a unique collection across many fields, from Impressionism to 20th Century Design, which was shown in beautiful homes in London, Saint Tropez and Saint Barths. Visitors to the galleries will witness a recreation of the extraordinary mis-en-scène, with masterpiece paintings presented alongside the great objects and artworks as they were shown in these exquisite homes. The Collection Sale on 13 December 2018, will describe the discerning eye of a significant collector, embracing paintings, drawings, sculpture, English and European Decorative Arts and 20th Century Design. Following the Collection Sale, five major paintings by Paul Signac, Gustave Caillebotte, Félix Vallotton, Edouard Vuillard and Giovanni Boldini will be highlights of the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 27 February 2019. This inspirational and deeply personal collection provides evocative insights into the creative joy of collecting and connoisseurship and the matching of fine objects with Impressionist artworks.
Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President, Christie’s: “Every object and every painting in the collection has been chosen with considerable care and with a grand design in mind. These were homes of wonderful contrasts, filled with joy, and with refined objects which caught the eye and the imagination. The Signac is amongst the finest of the artist’s great Opus paintings, and certainly amongst the greatest of Signac’s works in private hands. The Caillebotte and the Vallotton are also museum quality pictures which will challenge the world records for the artists. Both were bought here at Christie’s and it is a privilege to be handling these works again and to see them exhibited as they have been shown by this great collector, and a close friend, for so many years.”